Effects of Ginger on Disgust, Sexual Arousal, and Sexual Engagement: A Placebo-Controlled Experiment
Wen G, Zhang Y, Nyman TJ, Jern P, Santtila P · The Journal of Sex Research · 2023 February 21
DOI 10.1080/00224499.2023.2175191
Objective
The current study investigated 1) if disgust induced by sexual body fluids would reduce sexual arousal, reduce the likelihood of sexual engagement, and enhance disgust toward subsequent erotic stimuli, and 2) if the administration of ginger would affect these reactions.
Conclusions
Ginger may improve the sexual function of individuals via its sexual arousal-enhancing effect.
Critical Appraisal
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Insights
Ginger consumption could counteract the negative influence of disgust, induced by sexual body fluids, on sexual arousal in individuals.
The researchers conducted an experiment involving 247 participants, who were either given ginger or placebo pills. Participants were then required to complete tasks involving either sexual body fluids or neutral fluids. After completing their tasks, the participants were shown and asked to respond to questions about erotic stimuli which consisted of either nude or semi-nude pictures of individuals of the opposite sex.
This study showed that tasks involving sexual body fluids caused disgust. This feeling of disgust led to decreased sexual arousal in women. Interestingly, the consumption of ginger was found to counteract the inhibiting effect of disgust on sexual arousal. Additionally, the disgust caused by the sexual body fluids tasks also increased disgust towards subsequent erotic stimuli. However, ginger consumption was found to increase sexual arousal towards the erotic stimuli in both men and women who had performed the neutral fluids tasks.
